Chairity Project 2014 by Cult Design

14 Designers Alice Babidge Bassike Tracey Deep Dinosaur Designs Ken Done Coco Flip Adam Goodrum Hecker Guthrie George Livissiannis Megan Morton Romance was Born Ryan Storer Toko Zambesi

Cult

Chairity Project

Richard Munao Founder & Managing Director Cult

“2014 marks the 100th Anniversary of Hans J. Wegner. In celebration of this special event, we invited 14 creative talents to bravely reinterpret Wegner’s CH33 for Carl Hansen & Søn. The Chairity Project brings together all fields of art and design from fashion to graphics, painting to photography all in aid of charity and creativity. We have been truly humbled by the calibre of our Designers and Artists, the enthusiasm and energy they have brought to the project has been overwhelming. Having the opportunity to support 14 different charities has given all involved a wonderful experience to touch so many different areas in our community. I am thrilled Cult together with our partner Carl Hansen and Søn could facilitate this unique and exciting event.”

Happy bidding! http://stores.ebay.com.au/bidsforgood/chairity

Knud Erik Hansen 3rd generation Owner of Carl Hansen & Søn

Carl Hansen + Søn

“To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the birth of renowned Danish designer Hans J. Wegner, we have joined forces with Cult to bring together Danish Design with charity and creativity. We are proud to be part of the Reinventing Design Icons with Wegner’s iconic CH33 chair as the pivot of the design project and we are excited to see the outcome of the Australian and New Zealand designers’ interpretation of the original work of Wegner. With CH33, Wegner proves yet again that great design is timeless. This chair was conceived several decades ago, and is just as relevant now as it was then. Aside from its design features, the chair’s construction and the craftsmanship that goes into making it assure its appeal for generations to come.“

Danish architect Hans J. Wegner is considered a pioneering furniture designer of the twentieth century. As a driving force behind ‘Danish Modern’, he helped change the general public’s view of furniture in the 1950s and 1960s.

His passion for designing chairs, more than 500 of them, is recognized worldwide and reflected in his title ‘the Master of the Chair’. He is famous for integrating perfectly executed joints with exquisite shapes and combining them with a constant curiosity for materials and deep respect for wood and its natural characteristics. His designs furnish minimalism with organic and natural softness. Hans J. Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder in Southern Denmark, the son of a shoemaker. At the age of 17, he completed his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in the workshop of H. F. Stahlberg where his first designs saw the light of day. At the age of twenty he moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, to attend the School of Arts and Crafts, where he studied from 1936-1938 before embarking on a career as an architect.

Hans J. Wegner

In 1940, Wegner joined Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller and began designing furniture for the new City Hall in Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city. This was also the year when Wegner began working with master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, who played a major role in introducing modern design to the Danish public. Hans J. Wegner opened his own drawing office in 1943. In 1944, he designed the first China Chair in a series inspired by Chinese chairs from the Ming dynasty. One of these chairs, the Wishbone Chair, designed in 1949 and produced by Carl Hansen & Son since 1950, went on to become Wegner’s most successful design of all time. Hans J. Wegner is considered one of the most creative and productive Danish furniture designers of all time. He has received several accolades given to designers, including the

Lunning Prize in 1951 and The 8th International Design Award in 1997. He became an honorary member of the Royal Danish Academy for the Fine Arts in 1995, and an honorary doctor of the Royal College of Art in 1997. Almost all of the world’s major design museums, from The Museum of Modern Art in New York to Die Neue Sammlung in Munich, feature his furniture in their collections. Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January 2007 at the age of 92. Carl Hansen & Son’s alliance with Hans J. Wegner began in 1949 and resulted in the production of a wide range of Wegner designs spanning dining chairs, easy chairs, footrests, sofas and coffee tables, dining tables as well as high-end office furniture and children’s furniture. Wegner’s iconic designs from Carl Hansen & Son include the Shell Chair, Wing Chair and Wishbone Chair.

Alice Babidge & Robin Hearfield

Bassike

Deborah Sams Mary-Lou Ryan Website bassike.com

Material Black and white negative print on fibre based paper. Black card, acrylic, wood.

Material Grey marle wool felt with contrast cotton chain stitch

Charity

Mirabel Foundation The Mirabel Foundation assists children who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use and are now in the care of extended family (kinship care).

“The Chairity project gave me the opportunity to collaborate with my partner Robin Hearfield. Our dialogue about the project and the CH33 chair was constant and our resulting work developed so naturally. We have always been admirers of the assured form and cleanliness of Hans J. Wegner’s work and having spent the last few

months closely working with this particular chair, the admiration has only grown. We chose the St Vincent de Paul Women and Children’s Refuge in the Inner West because it is close to where Robin grew up and he had such admiration for the support they offer the Inner West community.”

Charity

St Vincent De Paul Women and Children’s Refuge Inner West The Women’s Refuge offers crisis accommodation and pathways out of homelessness for women and children escaping domestic violence by providing services that support families back to independence.

“We feel honoured to be reinventing an iconic example of industrial design. Our interest in design has always extended beyond the boundaries of fashion. It’s such a pleasure to be applying our craft to a different field of design.

Our chosen charity is Mirabel Foundation and we have worked with them for many years through the Give In Style clothing events. We are blown away by the work Mirabel Foundation do for children who have been orphaned due to parental illicit drug abuse and feel really passionate about supporting their important mission in any way we can.”

Tracey Deep

Dinosaur Designs

Instagram @floralsculptures

Louise Olsen Stephen Ormandy

Collaboration Signature Prints

Website dinosaurdesign.com.au

Chair title Florence

Material Hand-painted in acrylic paint

Material ‘Shadows’ by Florence Broadhurst

Charity

Garvan Institute Charity

Garvan’s mission is to make significant contributions to medical research that will change the directions of science and medicine and have major impacts on human health. Garvan strives to enhance and develop research programs that combine fundamental science with strong clinical interactions.

Indigenous Literacy Foundation The Indigenous Literacy Foundation has the vision to make a positive difference in the lives of Australian Indigenous children by focusing on ways to improve their literacy levels.

“The Chairity Project was a great opportunity to work with an iconic design and most importantly help raise funds formy chosen charity, The Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

I have chosen The Indigenous Literacy Foundation as a way of giving more opportunities for Indigenous children in remote communities, raising literacy levels with early exposure to quality books and educational resources, developing skills and life opportunities.”

“We felt very honoured to be involved in this project and loved celebrating the beautiful work of Hans J. Wegner. We’ve always admired his incredible body of work and are thrilled to be able to re-interpret it for a charity which is very close to both of us because The Garvan Institute is one of Australia’s pre-eminent facilities at the forefront of cancer research.”

Ken Done

Website kendone.com.au

Kate Stokes Haslett Grounds

Chair title Sydney Harbour Chair

Website cocoflip.com.au

Material Hand-painted in acrylic with sgraffito technique applied

Chair title Kobo

Coco Flip

Material Assorted Kvadrat fabrics Leather

Charity

The Wilderness Society Charity

Unicef Australia UNICEF’s work is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a universally agreed set of standards which sets out the right of every child to reach their full potential.

“I was happy to be a part of the Chairity Project and to make my Sydney Harbour chair. It seemed like a good idea at the time and I hope it raises some money for UNICEF.

I have been Australia’s Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF since 1988. The protection of young children in the poorest countries of the world will always be an important charity to support.”

The Wilderness Society is an Australian, communitybased, not-for-profit, non-governmental environmental advocacy organisation. The purpose of The Wilderness Society is to protect, promote and restore wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth.

“Redefining a design icon as significant and beautiful as Hans J. Wegner’s CH33 was both a creative and a moral challenge for us. With such reverence for the original design, we chose the approach of embellishing the chair without altering the original object itself.

The Wilderness Society thinks big when it comes to conservation and is a strong voice in the campaign to protect our natural environment. In today’s fast moving world, it is imperative that we advocate the protection of the natural assets that define and sustain Australia.”

Adam Goodrum

Website adamgoodrum.com

Paul Hecker Hamish Guthrie

Chair title Just Two Good Chairs

Website heckerguthrie.com

Material Mirrors

Collaboration Paul and Christina from Made Measure

Hecker Guthrie

Material Combination 1.5 & 2.5mm Vegetable Tanned Leather. Natural colour. #8 Bonded Nylon Thread. David Mellor Minimal Stainless Steel Cutlery; fork, knife and spoon.

Charity Charity

Surf Aid The mission of Surf Aid as a non-profit humanitarian organisation, is to improve the health, well-being and self reliance of people living in isolated regions connected to us through surfing.

“Hans J. Wegner is one of my heroes, so the thought of doing anything to one of his chairs seems sacrilegious. The CH33 in its raw state is so perfect, I felt real pressure with what to do... My dilemma was, do I create something functional or not?

I decided on dysfunctional and cut the chair in half. My chosen charity is Surfaid who work toward improving the health and living conditions of people living in isolated regions.”

My Room My Room was founded 22 years ago and has contributed over $42.1 million to the Children’s Cancer Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital in support of their clinical, research and building requirements.

“We were excited about this project because unusually we were our own client and we could explore ideas without restriction. The CH33 chair is a classic piece of furniture and it was important that we approached it in the same way in which we would with architecture; by putting our stamp on it without redefining it. We collaborated with Paul and Christina from Made Measure

who helped us develop our ideas into high-grade leather accessories. We chose My Room because we have a strong personal relationship with this charity. My Room has donated substantial sums to Royal Children’s Hospital for projects and initiatives to improve clinical care, research and quality of life for children with cancer.”

George Livissiannis

Website georgelivissianis.com

Website meganmorton.com

Collaboration Bermuda Black who realised the leatherwork and craftsmanship

Collaboration Photographer Earl Carter, framer Ryan Ward and sculptor, social commentator and arsonist Joost Baker

Material Wood treated with Yakisugi technique Leather

Megan Morton

Chair title The Art of Replica Material Frame: Tasmanian Oak, with a raw finish like the chair. Spline joinery details: Tasmanian Oak, ebonized. Glazing: UV Perspex.

Charity

The Fred Hollows Foundation Since established in 1992, The Fred Hollows Foundation has worked with organisations around the world to restore sight to over one million people.

“The Chairity project was an exciting project to be a part of to re-work, re-think, adapt and ‘pimp’ the CH33. I explored a process of burning the CH33 to a rich blue black finish which is an adaptation of the japanese burnt cedar process ‘Yakisugi’. I chose The Fred Hollows Foundation to donate all my proceeds to because I think the ability to restore sight is an amazing, almost miraculous gift and a very worthy charity.”

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre The ASRC’s vision is that all those seeking asylum in Australia have their human rights upheld and that those seeking asylum in our community receive the support and opportunities they need to live independently.

“It is the job of the stylist to change the way people perceive things. So out of love for Hans J. Wegner and his work, my response to the CH33 chair was totally counter-intuitive. I wanted to convey the fragile nature of the true craftsmanship of the design world – how replicas reduce our scope for beauty and ultimately kill industry. I was involved earlier this year in a situation which really highlighted `referencing’;

the stylists approach and the role we all play in ok’ing replicas. It is common artist practice to burn the ‘replica’ in question, so I imagined the sacrilegiousness of burning the Wegner for hopefully educating for a greater cause! My chosen charity is the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre because the current Australian government policy on forestry, asylum (which it is legal to seek), fracking, ageing and recycling embarrasses me.”

Romance was Born

Luke Sales Anna Plunkett

Website ryanstorer.com

Website romancewasborn.com

Chair title Crystal Dipped

Material Romance was Born embroidered fabric

Material Swarovski crystals

Ryan Storer

Charity

R U OK? Charity

Staffy Rescue Staffy Rescue is a no-kill animal shelter committed to saving and re-homing Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Large Breed Dogs.

“Hans J. Wegner is one of our favourite furniture designers, so putting the Romance was Born twist on this classic was super fun. We chose to donate all our proceeds raised from the auction to Staffy Rescue because Anna got her dog ‘Monaro’ from Staffy Rescue 6 years ago and

he comes to our office every day and is our little mascot. The contribution he has made to our lives in invaluable and if we can give something back to those who looked after him until he came into our lives it’s the least we can do.”

R U OK? Is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging and empowering all people to ask “Are you ok?” of anyone struggling with life. The vision of R U OK? Is a world where everyone is connected and is protected from suicide.

“Being involved in the Chairity Project was such an honour, of course being able to donate to a charity is the main focus but also working with such an iconic piece from a brand whose philosophy mirrors mine is so important. Just knowing that I am working on something that was designed and handmade by a skilled artisan makes

a huge difference for me and is why I have such respect for this brand and also the reason we are celebrating this design from 1957 still today. I selected R U OK because of the simplicity of the message but also the strength of that one sentence, asking someone something so basic can make a huge difference.”

Toko

Eva Dijkstra Michael Lugmayr

Elisabeth Findlay Neville Findlay

Website designbytoko.com

Website zambesi.co.nz

Zambesi

Collaboration Joinery: Nick James Burns Wayne Mavin Ceramics: Woo Ceramics Straps: Mister.Mister Chair title CH33 Bloke Material Natural beech timber Natural leather

Charity

Orangutan Foundation International Australia OFIA has two core campaigns; caring for orphaned and displaced Orangutans at the OFI Care Centre in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo; and, securing habitat for their future release.

“We consider ourselves very fortunate to be part of such a beautiful initiative, featuring so many talented people. For our project we imagined a future where Hans J. Wegner’s CH33 chair maintains to be iconic, but where density living and being single is the new norm.

CH33 Bloke; the perfect chair for the single bloke. We chose the Orangutan Foundation International Australia because we feel for (all) the helpless animals losing precious habitat on a daily basis.”

Charity

Cure Kids The Cure Kids mission is to improve the health of children through research and its outcomes. At Cure Kids, the purpose is simple, every single day they are driven to find cures for the life-threatening illnesses that affect many of our children.

“The Chairity Project gave us the opportunity to express our Zambesi design ethic in an alternative medium and of course we are delighted to be associated with Hans Wegner and the 100 year celebration of his masterful minimal design. We chose to donate all proceeds from our chair to Cure Kids because nothing is more precious to us both than our kids.”